*** D64 (Electronic form of a physical 1541 disk)
*** Document revision: 1.9
*** Last updated: March 11, 2004
*** Contributors/sources: Immers/Neufeld "Inside Commodore DOS"
Wolfgang Moser
(Note: This document will try to explain the layout of the 1541 disks, as
well as some of the files they contain. However, I do not explain GEOS or
REL files here. See the file GEOS.TXT or REL.TXT for more information on
those file types or disk structure). Special thanks to Wolfgang Moser for
his work on identifying the differences between the various 'Speeder' DOS's
that exist. This information is included in a table later in this document.
First and foremost we have D64, which is basically a sector-for-sector
copy of a 1540/1541 disk. There are several versions of these which I will
cover shortly. The standard D64 is a 174848 byte file comprised of 256 byte
sectors arranged in 35 tracks with a varying number of sectors per track
for a total of 683 sectors. Track counting starts at 1, not 0, and goes up
to 35. Sector counting starts at 0, not 1, for the first sector, therefore
a track with 21 sectors will go from 0 to 20.
The original media (a 5.25" disk) has the tracks laid out in circles,
with track 1 on the very outside of the disk (closest to the sides) to
track 35 being on the inside of the disk (closest to the inner hub ring).
Commodore, in their infinite wisdom, varied the number of sectors per track
and data densities across the disk to optimize available storage, resulting
in the chart below. It shows the sectors/track for a standard D64. Since
the outside diameter of a circle is the largest (versus closer to the
center), the outside tracks have the largest amount of storage.
Track Sectors/track # Sectors Storage in Bytes
----- ------------- --------- ----------------
1-17 21 357 7820
18-24 19 133 7170
25-30 18 108 6300
31-40(*) 17 85 6020
---
683 (for a 35 track image)
Track #Sect #SectorsIn D64 Offset Track #Sect #SectorsIn D64 Offset
----- ----- ---------- ---------- ----- ----- ---------- ----------
1 21 0 $00000 21 19 414 $19E00
2 21 21 $01500 22 19 433 $1B100
3 21 42 $02A00 23 19 452 $1C400
4 21 63 $03F00 24 19 471 $1D700
5 21 84 $05400 25 18 490 $1EA00
6 21 105 $06900 26 18 508 $1FC00
7 21 126 $07E00 27 18 526 $20E00
8 21 147 $09300 28 18 544 $22000
9 21 168 $0A800 29 18 562 $23200
10 21 189 $0BD00 30 18 580 $24400
11 21 210 $0D200 31 17 598 $25600
12 21 231 $0E700 32 17 615 $26700
13 21 252 $0FC00 33 17 632 $27800
14 21 273 $11100 34 17 649 $28900
15 21 294 $12600 35 17 666 $29A00
16 21 315 $13B00 36(*) 17 683 $2AB00
17 21 336 $15000 37(*) 17 700 $2BC00
18 19 357 $16500 38(*) 17 717 $2CD00
19 19 376 $17800 39(*) 17 734 $2DE00
20 19 395 $18B00 40(*) 17 751 $2EF00
(*)Tracks 36-40 apply to 40-track images only
The directory track should be contained totally on track 18. Sectors 1-18
contain the entries and sector 0 contains the BAM (Block Availability Map)
and disk name/ID. Since the directory is only 18 sectors large (19 less one
for the BAM), and each sector can contain only 8 entries (32 bytes per
entry), the maximum number of directory entries is 18 * 8 = 144. The first
directory sector is always 18/1, even though the t/s pointer at 18/0 (first
two bytes) might point somewhere else. It then follows the same chain
structure as a normal file, using a sector interleave of 3. This makes the
chain links go 18/1, 18/4, 18/7 etc.
Note that you can extend the directory off of track 18, but only when
reading the disk or image. Attempting to write to a directory sector not on
track 18 will cause directory corruption.
Each directory sector has the following layout (18/1 partial dump):
00: 12 04 81 11 00 4E 41 4D 45 53 20 26 20 50 4F 53 <- notice the T/S link
10: 49 54 A0 A0 A0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 15 00 <- to 18/4 ($12/$04)
20: 00 00 84 11 02 41 44 44 49 54 49 4F 4E 41 4C 20 <- and how its not here
30: 49 4E 46 4F A0 11 0C FE 00 00 00 00 00 00 61 01 <- ($00/$00)
The first two bytes of the sector ($12/$04) indicate the location of the
next track/sector of the directory (18/4). If the track is set to $00, then
it is the last sector of the directory. It is possible, however unlikely,
that the directory may *not* be competely on track 18 (some disks do exist
like this). Just follow the chain anyhow.
When the directory is done, the track value will be $00. The sector link
should contain a value of $FF, meaning the whole sector is allocated, but
the actual value doesn't matter. The drive will return all the available
entries anyways. This is a breakdown of a standard directory sector and
entry:
Bytes: $00-1F: First directory entry
00-01: Track/Sector location of next directory sector ($00 $00 if
not the first entry in the sector)
02: File type.
Typical values for this location are:
$00 - Scratched (deleted file entry)
80 - DEL
81 - SEQ
82 - PRG
83 - USR
84 - REL
Bit 0-3: The actual filetype
000 (0) - DEL
001 (1) - SEQ
010 (2) - PRG
011 (3) - USR
100 (4) - REL
Values 5-15 are illegal, but if used will produce
very strange results. The 1541 is inconsistent in
how it treats these bits. Some routines use all 4
bits, others ignore bit 3, resulting in values
from 0-7.
Bit 4: Not used
Bit 5: Used only during SAVE-@ replacement
Bit 6: Locked flag (Set produces ">" locked files)
Bit 7: Closed flag (Not set produces "*", or "splat"
files)
03-04: Track/sector location of first sector of file
05-14: 16 character filename (in PETASCII, padded with $A0)
15-16: Track/Sector location of first side-sector block (REL file
only)
17: REL file record length (REL file only, max. value 254)
18-1D: Unused (except with GEOS disks)
1E-1F: File size in sectors, low/high byte order ($1E+$1F*256).
The approx. filesize in bytes is <= #sectors * 254
20-3F: Second dir entry. From now on the first two bytes of each
entry in this sector should be $00 $00, as they are
unused.
40-5F: Third dir entry
60-7F: Fourth dir entry
80-9F: Fifth dir entry
A0-BF: Sixth dir entry
C0-DF: Seventh dir entry
E0-FF: Eighth dir entry
Files, on a standard 1541, are stored using an interleave of 10. Assuming a
starting track/sector of 17/0, the chain would run 17/0, 17/10, 17/20,
17/8, 17/18, etc.
Note: No GEOS entries are listed in the above description. See the GEOS.TXT
file for GEOS info.
The layout of the BAM area (sector 18/0) is a bit more complicated...
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
-----------------------------------------------
00: 12 01 41 00 12 FF F9 17 15 FF FF 1F 15 FF FF 1F
10: 15 FF FF 1F 12 FF F9 17 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
20: 00 00 00 00 0E FF 74 03 15 FF FF 1F 15 FF FF 1F
30: 0E 3F FC 11 07 E1 80 01 15 FF FF 1F 15 FF FF 1F
40: 15 FF FF 1F 15 FF FF 1F 0D C0 FF 07 13 FF FF 07
50: 13 FF FF 07 11 FF CF 07 13 FF FF 07 12 7F FF 07
60: 13 FF FF 07 0A 75 55 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
70: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 08 00 00 03 02 48 00
80: 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01
90: 53 48 41 52 45 57 41 52 45 20 31 20 20 A0 A0 A0
A0: A0 A0 56 54 A0 32 41 A0 A0 A0 A0 00 00 00 00 00
B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
C0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Bytes:$00-01: Track/Sector location of the first directory sector (should
be set to 18/1 but it doesn't matter, and don't trust what
is there, always go to 18/1 for first directory entry)
02: Disk DOS version type (see note below)
$41 ("A")
03: Unused
04-8F: BAM entries for each track, in groups of four bytes per
track, starting on track 1 (see below for more details)
90-9F: Disk Name (padded with $A0)
A0-A1: Filled with $A0
A2-A3: Disk ID
A4: Usually $A0
A5-A6: DOS type, usually "2A"
A7-AA: Filled with $A0
AB-FF: Normally unused ($00), except for 40 track extended format,
see the following two entries:
AC-BF: DOLPHIN DOS track 36-40 BAM entries (only for 40 track)
C0-D3: SPEED DOS track 36-40 BAM entries (only for 40 track)
Note: The BAM entries for SPEED, DOLPHIN and ProLogic DOS use the same
layout as standard BAM entries.
One of the interesting things from the BAM sector is the byte at offset
$02, the DOS version byte. If it is set to anything other than $41 or $00,
then we have what is called "soft write protection". Any attempt to write
to the disk will return the "DOS Version" error code 73 ,"CBM DOS V 2.6
1541". The 1541 is simply telling you that it thinks the disk format
version is incorrect. This message will normally come up when you first
turn on the 1541 and read the error channel. If you write a $00 or a $41
into 1541 memory location $00FF (for device 0), then you can circumvent
this type of write-protection, and change the DOS version back to what it
should be.
The BAM entries require a bit (no pun intended) more of a breakdown. Take
the first entry at bytes $04-$07 ($12 $FF $F9 $17). The first byte ($12) is
the number of free sectors on that track. Since we are looking at the track
1 entry, this means it has 18 (decimal) free sectors. The next three bytes
represent the bitmap of which sectors are used/free. Since it is 3 bytes (8
bits/byte) we have 24 bits of storage. Remember that at most, each track
only has 21 sectors, so there are a few unused bits.
Bytes: 04-07: 12 FF F9 17 Track 1 BAM
08-0B: 15 FF FF FF Track 2 BAM
0C-0F: 15 FF FF 1F Track 3 BAM
...
8C-8F: 11 FF FF 01 Track 35 BAM
These entries must be viewed in binary to make any sense. We will use the
first entry (track 1) at bytes 04-07:
FF=11111111, F9=11111001, 17=00010111
In order to make any sense from the binary notation, flip the bits around.
111111 11112222
01234567 89012345 67890123
--------------------------
11111111 10011111 11101000
^ ^
sector 0 sector 20
Since we are on the first track, we have 21 sectors, and only use up to
the bit 20 position. If a bit is on (1), the sector is free. Therefore,
track 1 has sectors 9,10 and 19 used, all the rest are free. Any leftover
bits that refer to sectors that don't exist, like bits 21-23 in the above
example, are set to allocated.
Each filetype has its own unique properties, but most follow one simple
structure. The first file sector is pointed to by the directory and follows
a t/s chain, until the track value reaches $00. When this happens, the
value in the sector link location indicates how much of the sector is used.
For example, the following chain indicates a file 6 sectors long, and ends
when we encounter the $00/$34 chain. At this point the last sector occupies
from bytes $02-$34.
1 2 3 4 5 6
---- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
17/0 17/10 17/20 17/1 17/11 0/52
(11/00) (11/0A) (11/14) (11/01) (11/0B) (0/34)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** Variations on the D64 layout
These are some variations of the D64 layout:
1. Standard 35 track layout but with 683 error bytes added on to the end
of the file. Each byte of the error info corresponds to a single
sector stored in the D64, indicating if the sector on the original
disk contained an error. The first byte is for track 1/0, and the last
byte is for track 35/16.
2. A 40 track layout, following the same layout as a 35 track disk, but
with 5 extra tracks. These contain 17 sectors each, like tracks 31-35.
Some of the PC utilities do allow you to create and work with these
files. This can also have error bytes attached like variant #1.
3. The Commodore 128 allowed for "auto-boot" disks. With this, t/s 1/0
holds a specific byte sequence which the computer recognizes as boot
code. See the document C128BOOT.TXT for more info.
Below is a small chart detailing the standard file sizes of D64 images,
35 or 40 tracks, with or without error bytes.
Disk type Size
--------- ------
35 track, no errors 174848
35 track, 683 error bytes 175531
40 track, no errors 196608
40 track, 768 error bytes 197376
The following table (provided by Wolfgang Moser) outlines the differences
between the standard 1541 DOS and the various "speeder" DOS's that exist.
The 'header 7/8' category is the 'fill bytes' as the end of the sector
header of a real 1541 disk See the document G64.TXT for a better
explanation of these bytes.
Disk format |Tracks|Header 7/8|Dos type|DiskDos
| |allsechdrs| |vs.type
============================================================
Original CBM DOS v2.6 | 35 | $0f $0f | "2A" |$41/'A'
------------------------------------------------------------
SpeedDOS+ | 40 | $0f $0f | "2A" |$41/'A'
------------------------------------------------------------
ProfessionalDOS Initial | 35 | $0f $0f | "2A" |$41/'A'
(Version 1/Prototype) | 40 | $0f $0f | "2A" |$41/'A'
------------------------------------------------------------
ProfDOS Release | 40 | $0f $0f | "4A" |$41/'A'
------------------------------------------------------------
Dolphin-DOS 2.0/3.0 | 35 | $0f $0f | "2A" |$41/'A'
Dolphin-DOS 2.0/3.0 | 40 | $0d $0f | "2A" |$41/'A'
------------------------------------------------------------
PrologicDOS 1541 | 35 | $0f $0f | "2A" |$41/'A'
PrologicDOS 1541 | 40 | $0f $0f | "2P" |$50/'P'
ProSpeed 1571 2.0 | 35 | $0f $0f | "2A" |$41/'A'
ProSpeed 1571 2.0 | 40 | $0f $0f | "2P" |$50/'P'
------------------------------------------------------------
The location of the extra BAM information in sector 18/0, for 40 track
images, will be different depending on what standard the disks have been
formatted with. SPEED DOS stores them from $C0 to $D3, DOLPHIN DOS stores
them from $AC to $BF and PrologicDOS stored them right after the existing
BAM entries from $90-A3. PrologicDOS also moves the disk label and ID
forward from the standard location of $90 to $A4. 64COPY and Star Commander
let you select from several different types of extended disk formats you
want to create/work with.
All three of the speeder DOS's mentioned above don't alter the standard
sector interleave of 10 for files and 3 for directories. The reason is that
they use a memory cache installed in the drive which reads the entire track
in one pass. This alleviates the need for custom interleave values. They do
seem to alter the algorithm that finds the next available free sector so
that the interleave value can deviate from 10 under certain circumstances,
but I don't know why they would bother.
Below is a HEX dump of a Speed DOS BAM sector. Note the location of the
extra BAM info from $C0-D3.
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F ASCII
----------------------------------------------- ----------------
0070: 12 FF FF 03 12 FF FF 03 12 FF FF 03 11 FF FF 01 ????????????????
0080: 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 ????????????????
0090: A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 ????????????????
00A0: A0 A0 30 30 A0 32 41 A0 A0 A0 A0 00 00 00 00 00 ??00?2A?????????
00B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ????????????????
00C0: 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 ????????????????
00D0: 11 FF FF 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ????????????????
Below is a HEX dump of a Dolphin DOS BAM sector. Note the location of the
extra BAM info from $AC-BF.
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F ASCII
----------------------------------------------- ----------------
0070: 12 FF FF 03 12 FF FF 03 12 FF FF 03 11 FF FF 01 ????????????????
0080: 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 ????????????????
0090: A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 ????????????????
00A0: A0 A0 30 30 A0 32 41 A0 A0 A0 A0 00 11 FF FF 01 ??00?2A?????????
00B0: 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 ????????????????
00C0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ????????????????
00D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ????????????????
Below is a HEX dump of a PrologicDOS BAM sector. Note that the disk name
and ID are now located at $A4 instead of starting at $90.
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F ASCII
----------------------------------------------- ----------------
0070: 12 FF FF 03 12 FF FF 03 12 FF FF 03 11 FF FF 01 ????????????????
0080: 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 ????????????????
0090: 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 11 FF FF 01 ????????????????
00A0: 11 FF FF 01 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 ????????????????
00B0: A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 30 30 A0 32 50 A0 A0 A0 A0 00 ??????00?2P?????
00C0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ????????????????
00ED: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ????????????????
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is the meaning of the error bytes added onto the end of any extended
D64. The CODE is the same as that generated by the 1541 drive controller...
it reports these numbers, not the error code we usually see when an error
occurs.
Some of what comes below is taken from Immers/Neufeld book "Inside
Commodore DOS". Note the descriptions are not completely accurate as to
what the drive DOS is actually doing to seek/read/decode/write sectors, but
serve as simple examples only. The "type" field is where the error usually
occurs, whether it's searching for any SYNC mark, any header ID, any valid
header, or reading a sector.
These first errors are "seek" errors, where the disk controller is simply
reading headers and looking at descriptor bytes, checksums, format ID's and
reporting what errors it sees. These errors do *not* necessarily apply to
the exact sector being looked for. This fact makes duplication of these
errors very unreliable.
Code Error Type 1541 error description
---- ----- ---- ------------------------------
03 21 Seek No SYNC sequence found.
Each sector data block and header block are
preceeded by SYNC marks. If *no* sync sequence is
found within 20 milliseconds (only ~1/10 of a disk
rotation!) then this error is generated. This error
used to mean the entire track is bad, but it does
not have to be the case. Only a small area of the
track needs to be without a SYNC mark and this
error will be generated.
Converting this error to a D64 is very problematic
because it depends on where the physical head is on
the disk when a read attempt is made. If it is on
valid header/sectors then it won't occur. If it
happens over an area without SYNC marks, it will
happen.
02 20 Seek Header descriptor byte not found (HEX $08, GCR $52)
Each sector is preceeded by an 8-byte GCR header
block, which starts with the value $52 (GCR). If
this value is not found after 90 attempts, this
error is generated.
Basically, what a track has is SYNC marks, and
possibly valid data blocks, but no valid header
descriptors.
09 27 Seek Checksum error in header block
The header block contains a checksum value,
calculated by XOR'ing the TRACK, SECTOR, ID1 and
ID2 values. If this checksum is wrong, this error
is generated.
0B 29 Seek Disk sector ID mismatch
The ID's from the header block of the currently
read sector are compared against the ones from the
low-level header of 18/0. If there is a mismatch,
this error is generated.
02 20 Seek Header block not found
This error can be reported again when searching for
the correct header block. An image of the header is
built and searched for, but not found after 90 read
attempts. Note the difference from the first
occurance. The first one only searches for a valid
ID, not the whole header.
Note that error 20 occurs twice during this phase. The first time is when
a header ID is being searched for, the second is when the proper header
pattern for the sector being searched for is not found.
From this point on, all the errors apply to the specific sector you are
looking for. If a read passed all the previous checks, then we are at the
sector being searched for.
Note that the entire sector is read before these errors are detected.
Therefore the data, checksum and off bytes are available.
Code Error Type 1541 error description
---- ----- ---- ------------------------------
04 22 Read Data descriptor byte not found (HEX $07, GCR $55)
Each sector data block is preceeded by the value
$07, the "data block" descriptor. If this value is
not there, this error is generated. Each encoded
sector has actually 260 bytes. First is the
descriptor byte, then follows the 256 bytes of
data, a checksum, and two "off" bytes.
05 23 Read Checksum error in data block
The checksum of the data read of the disk is
calculated, and compared against the one stored at
the end of the sector. If there's a discrepancy,
this error is generated.
0F 74 Read Drive Not Ready (no disk in drive or no device 1)
These errors only apply when writing to a disk. I don't see the
usefulness of having these as they cannot be present when only *reading* a
disk.
Code Error Type 1541 error description
---- ----- ---- ------------------------------
06 24 Write Write verify (on format)
07 25 Write Write verify error
Once the GCR-encoded sector is written out, the
drive waits for the sector to come around again and
verifies the whole 325-byte GCR block. Any errors
encountered will generate this error.
08 26 Write Write protect on
Self explanatory. Remove the write-protect tab, and
try again.
0A 28 Write Write error
In actual fact, this error never occurs, but it is
included for completeness.
This is not an error at all, but when gets reported when the read of a
sector is ok.
Code Error Type 1541 error description
---- ----- ---- ------------------------------
01 00 N/A No error.
Self explanatory. No errors were detected in the
reading and decoding of the sector.
The advantage with using the 35 track D64 format, regardless of error
bytes, is that it can be converted directly back to a 1541 disk by either
using the proper cable and software on the PC, or send it down to the C64
and writing it back to a 1541. It is the best documented format since it is
also native to the C64, with many books explaining the disk layout and the
internals of the 1541.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
What it takes to support D64:
The D64 layout is reasonably robust, being that it is an electronic
representation of a physical 1541 disk. It shares *most* of the 1541
attributes and it supports all file formats, since all C64 files came from
here. The only file I have found that can't be copied to a D64 is a T64 FRZ
(FRoZen files), since you lose the extra file type attribute.
Since the D64 layout seems to be an exact byte copy of a 1541 floppy, it
would appear to be the perfect format for *any* emulator. However, it does
not contain certain vital bits of information that, as a user, you normally
don't have access to.
Preceeding each sector on a real 1541 disk is a header block which
contains the sector ID bytes and checksum. From the information contained
in the header, the drive determines if there's an error on that header
(27-checksum error, 29-disk ID mismatch). The sector itself also contains
info (data block signature, checksum) that result in error detection (23
checksum, 22 data block not present, etc). The error bytes had to be added
on to the D64 image, "extending" the format to take into account the
missing info.
The disk ID is important in the copy protection of some programs. Some
programs fail to work properly since the D64 doesn't contain these ID's.
These bytes would be an addition to the format which has never been done
and would be difficult to do. (As an aside, the 4-pack ZipCode files do
contain the original master disk ID, but these are lost in the conversion
of a ZipCode to a D64. Only storing *one* of the ID's is not enough, all
the sector ID's should be kept.)
The extended track 1541 disks also presented a problem, as there are
several different formats (and how/where to store the extra BAM entries in
a sector that was not designed for them, yet still remain compatible).
Because of the additions to the format (error bytes and 40 tracks) there
exists 4 different types of D64's, all recognizeable by their size.
It is also the only format that uses the sector count for the file size
rather than actual bytes used. This can present some problems when
converting/copying the to another format because you may have to know the
size before you begin (see LBR format).
It also contains no consistent signature, useful for recognizing if D64
is really what it claims to be. In order to determine if a file is a D64,
you must check the file size.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall Good/Bad of D64 Files:
Good
----
* D64 files are the most widely supported and well-defined format, as it
is simply an electronic version of a 1541 disk
* Supports *all* filenames, even those with $00's in them
* Filenames are padded with the standard $A0 character
* Supports REL and all GEOS files
* Allows complete directory customization
* Because it is a random-access device, it supports fast-loaders and
random sector access
* PC Cluster slack-space loss is minimized since the file is a larger
fixed size
* Has a label (description) field
* Format extentible to allow for 40-track disks
* With the inclusion of error bytes, you have support for basic
copy-protection
* Files on a disk can easily be re-written, as long as there is free
blocks
Bad
---
* The format doesn't contain *all* the info from the 1541 disk (no sector
header info like ID bytes, checksums). This renders some of the
original special-loaders and copy-protection useless.
* You don't *really* know the file size of the contained C64 files in
bytes, only blocks
* It can't store C64s FRZ files due to FRZ files needing a special flag
that a D64 can't store. This is by no means a big problem.
* It is not an expandable filetype, like LNX or T64
* Unless most of the space on a D64 disk is used, you do end up with
wasted space
* Directory limited to 144 files maximum
* Cannot have loadable files with the same names
* Has no recognizeable file signature (unlike most other formats). The
only reliable way to know if a file is a D64 is by its size
* It is too easy for people to muck up the standard layout
* It is much more difficult to support fully, as you really need to
emulate the 1541 DOS (sector interleave, REL files, GEOS VLIR files)
|